To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Merchant-Ivory productions, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is holding a month-long tribute, airing movies every Thursday night for the month of September. Unfortunately I was unable to watch the first night of movies (9/8) because I was attending a wedding but I am determined to go all in starting tonight.

The lineup for this evening’s programming is:

Remains of the Day, The (1993) – currently on

Howards End (1992)

A Room With a View (1985)

Maurice (1987)

The directing/producing team of James Ivory and Ismail Merchant. Their trademark is a collection of films that are understated adaptations of novels. Often these films were written for the screen by long time collaborator Ruth Prawer Jhabvala.

Easily my favorite of the bunch is A Room With a View with Howards End and Remains of the Day. I do however easily concede that these films are not for everyone. For some, the pacing and restraint shown in several of their films can leave one feeling a bit overanxious for something more active to appear on screen. For me the strength of the performances more than makes up

It must be obvious to readers of this blog – I love romantic pictures .. especially those that are adapted beautifully from some great bits of literature. I was browsing the BBC America site this evening and followed this link:

Mind you it is a Miramax advert for the upcoming DVD release Cherie starring Michelle Pfeiffer, it is something I thought you might like. Click on the images and read the short synopses of books and their novel adaptations.